Eden
by Lunar1
Summary: SG1 visit paradise, but will Sam and Jack be prepared to spend an eternity there?
1. P3X106

Major Carter blinked in the bright light of P3X-106, effulgent after spending the last two days in the humming strip-light world of her lab in the Cheyenne mountain complex. The MALP sat somewhat forlornly at the base of the steps on which P3X-106's Stargate was mounted, having slid down the stairs and into the DHD in an unfortunate accident upon arrival through the 'Gate. There were three previously introduced representatives from P3X-106 waiting for them at that bottom. O'Neill favoured them with a broad smile.

"Morning folks. I'm Jack O'Neill; this is Major Carter, Teal'c and Doctor Jackson," he said, indicating them with a careless wave of his hand. He pulled out his sunglasses and hurriedly put them on to shield his eyes from the light. Daniel stepped down from the 'Gate to shake hands with the representatives. 

"Greetings, Jack O'Neill. I am T'Yanthon, leader of the High Council. These are my aides, J'Kartha and Helmont."

Carter smiled slightly at her CO's expression as he registered the names. Colonel O'Neill was notoriously bad with alien names. She opened a panel on the MALP with a practised ease, attempting to see if any of the wiring had been knocked loose during the fall. Finding nothing wrong she checked the camera and located the problem; it had smashed upon hitting the DHD, explaining their lack of visual contact with the members of the High Council.

"The camera's smashed sir," she called out as O'Neill shook hands with T'Yanthon, "I'll send it back now. I can't understand why it fell..."

It was O'Neill's turn to smile, knowing how irritated Carter could get when her technical... doohickeys... failed her. "We can send it back later, Carter." He paused and looked a little expectantly at T'Yanthon "I'm sure you folks have a tour planned...?"

T'Yanthon nodded. "We would be delighted to take you on a tour of our city, it has been many years since we have received visitors through the... um, how do you say it? Stargate?"

"Yes," said Daniel, mouth framing several suitable questions as SG1 set off after T'Yanthon and his aides. O'Neill fell into step besides Teal'c.

"Nice place," he said.

"It is indeed pleasant O'Neill," Teal'c said and Carter, a few steps behind, nodded her mute agreement. The path they were walking down was made of a shining black material, too smooth to be concrete and more like polished glass, but their boots did not slide on the surface. On either side there were huge grassy verges with neat flower beds awash in riotous colours; gold and magenta, far more vivid than any plant on earth. Carter made a mental note to ask if she could take a cutting; her plants did not seem to be responding well to her daily chatter of late, three of them had died over the last two months. Perhaps some quite literal alien amongst them might improve their general health. 

Chuckling at her own lunacy she followed the rest of SG1.

*

O'Neill found himself gazing around in wide eyed amazement, something the cynical and world weary old soldier did not find himself doing very often. The residents of P3X-106 were obviously very technically advanced, their strange dome shaped houses dotted around on the rolling green grassy plains that stretched as far as the eye could see in almost all directions. On the horizon directly ahead of them was dark mass of trees.

"If you will follow us?" said J'Kartha and O'Neill realised he had been wandering away from the group in his awe. He gave a slightly embarrassed cough as Daniel and Carter shot him identical amused grins. 

"This is our Council Room," said T'Yanthon with a note of pride in his voice. All three non-Jaffa members of SG1 gasped in awe and even Teal'c raised an eyebrow in appreciation. The walls of the room were a huge mural, the ceiling a massive dome with an even huger frieze. O'Neill couldn't say exactly what they were showing; Carter was reminded strongly of the ceilings in the giant Italian cathedrals, in her mind's eye she could see a Michael-Angelo figure painting the chubby cherubs and seraphine so beautiful they almost hurt to look at.

"Nice," said O'Neill, eloquent as always.

Carter and Daniel nodded in agreement. "I am glad you appreciate it. In these modern times some of our young people do not value it as much as we would prefer..." murmured Helmont.

"Kids eh?" said Doctor Jackson, as O'Neill's mouth opened to say exactly the same thing. He shot Daniel a sideways look.

"We have much to discuss," said T'Yanthon, a signal to all present that the conversation should now turn to business at hand. "I believe your commander mentioned trade agreements?"

Carter turned to the man. "Yes Councillor, we are here in a negotiation capacity."

"What is customary exchange?" asked T'Yanthon, motioning for them all to sit down and nodding to J'Kartha, who left the exquisitely decorated room.

"Er, well, anything really," said O'Neill, "Raw materials, technology, weapons..." his voice had a decidedly hopeful edge towards the end of the sentence. 

T'Yanthon frowned. "We have no need for weapons as you would recognise them, none have been manufactured for the last hundred years by my people as far as I am aware. I admit I was hoping for an exchange of knowledge, history. You are the first visitors we have received through the, uh, Stargate and we have never pursued a vigorous policy of exploration ourselves..."

O'Neill's face fell slightly at this news but Daniel's lit up. "That would be welcome trade," he replied and Carter, no doubt thrilled at the thought of new scientific knowledge to try and understand, smiled. Teal'c's countenance of calm patience remained unchanged.

O'Neill found himself switching off, much to his disgust. He always felt like a spare part at these discussions; Carter found something technical to get excited about, Daniel was amazed by some historical discovery, and Teal'c... well, Teal'c at least looked vaguely interested in the goings on. He stared around the room at the pictures. They really were rather good.

"Hmm?" he said mildly, realising that someone had spoken to him. "Sorry," he apologised, looking into the smiling face of Helmont. 

"I'm afraid the technicalities of this discussion are of little interest to me," said the younger man, grinning embarrassedly. "I couldn't help but notice you admiring our art. I wondered if you would like to come for a walk with me?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, offering a silent prayer of thanks to whichever deity had managed to get him off the hook and out of this discussion. Helmont nodded to T'Yanthon, and Jack followed him out of the room.

"Where are we going?" asked O'Neill after a few moments of walking outside in the bright sunlight.

"It is not far, Colonel O'Neill. We will take a transportation module to reach our destination."

"O-kay," said O'Neill warily.

They walked onwards, O'Neill pulling out his sunglasses again to shield his eyes from the light. Helmont lead him inside a particularly large domed building and O'Neill blinked at the row of pods lined up inside. Pods was the only word he could think of to describe them; egg shaped green machines, with two seats inside. Helmont motioned for him to sit in one, and he did so uneasily. The man sat down next to him and said something O'Neill couldn't understand, and the pod started to move, out of the doorway and into the sun.

"Cool," said O'Neill as the shining black road sped away underneath them.

"I'm sorry?"

"These pods. They're, um.." O'Neill sought for a word that would be understandable. "They're very nice," he settled for.

"We will reach out destination momentarily. I have to speak to security."

"Sure. Okay. I'll um, just wait in the pod..."

A few moments later they slowed to a stop, seemingly on the edge of the huge mass of trees that had been on the horizon when stepping through the gate. Helmont disappeared for a moment, leaving O'Neill tapping his fingers on his knees; gaze roving idly over the pod. 

"You can come out now," said Helmont, his head reappearing briefly again and O'Neill unfolded his long legs out the pod and stood in the bright sunshine. He followed Helmont through a wide gateway.

All the hairs on his body stood on end and he blinked, a strange sensation shivering down his spine. "What the hell-" he began, and stopped.

Wherever he had *just* been was certainly *not* where he was now. The air had a hot and heavy feel to it, wet heat slapped into him although it was not an unpleasant sensation. Around him there was forest, creepers and vines in a tangled web above his head; the green-grey trunks of trees that were huge beyond Earth reckoning forming a wall in almost every direction except that directly in front of him. More than that there was a strange sensation that crept over him so slowly that it took him a few moments to realise it. He felt peaceful, more so than he had ever done in his life. 

Helmont smiled at him again; the man spent more time grinning than Jonas... had used to. O'Neill blinked at the remembrance of the younger man, the slight sadness at his loss from SG1 surprising him, a momentary cloud across the sun of his happiness. Then the peaceful feeling reclaimed him.

"You wish to know where you are?" asked Helmont.

O'Neill muttered something that even he couldn't understand, his senses overloaded by the chirping jungle.

"This is Eden."

"Very nice," O'Neill muttered, before the comment really sank in. Then: "I'm sorry?"


	2. Shocking News

Hi folks! Firstly, thanks for all the wonderful reviews! *Blushes* I'm glad you like the fics. Patience my fellow shippers, Sam/Jack is coming... it just takes time. 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  


Doctor Fraiser clicked the penlight and the bright light died, much to Colonel O'Neill's relief.

"Well Doc?" he asked, smiling in what he probably thought was a winning manner. Fraiser found herself grinning too at his boyish desperation to leave the infirmary. 

"You're free to go Colonel. In fact, I've never seen SG1 in such good health."

"Thanks," replied O'Neill, leaping up from his bed, "Say hello to Cassie for me, won't you?"

"Will do Jack," Janet replied as the Colonel left the infirmary, whistling. He was still in good spirits taking his seat the debriefing half an hour later. General Hammond nodded to Daniel who clicked the remote to begin his hastily prepared presentation on the big screen.

"P3X-106 is a very technically advanced planet," the archeologist began, as pictures of the domed buildings appeared on the screens, "But it is their fascinating history which should be of greatest interest to the SGC." 

He continued as the pictures rapidly changed. 

"They have exactly the same creation story detailed in Genesis; except in their version only Eve was tempted to eat from the tree of knowledge." 

Daniel's eyes were dancing with excitement behind his glasses. 

"Adam begged for her to be allowed to stay in the Garden of Eden, to remain with him. Eventually he offered himself to receive her punishment. Moved by the compassion of his greatest creation God forgave them; instead Eve would endure the pain of childbirth for her punishment."

"The implications of this are enormous. Previously we've never encountered any of the origins of the six major modern-day religions being adopted by alien cultures," Carter continued smoothly from Doctor Jackson. 

"And there's another twist," continued Daniel, "The High Council of P3X-106 have long been aware that their world was colonised via the Stargate; they even have evidence the world was terraformed specifically for them. They're in no doubt that they were implanted into an alien environment by a species who used the religious work to suit their purpose. But they still worship them as creators, and follow the teachings in their, um 'Bible.'"

"I'm not surprised," interjected O'Neill, "Their Eden is... well, paradise. And Helmont told me that their crime rate has never been above two percent. No wars...And the Forest is just amazing."

Hammond gave the Colonel a small look of surprise; it was very rare that O'Neill ever voiced such enthusiastic view of another planet.

"Eden is a place of healing for them," Daniel explained, "They were rather vague, I gather much of Eden was destroyed in their equivalent of the industrial revolution. Now they seem to visit it regularly, but only the terminally ill live in the forest itself, to try and minimise human damage."

"Could we possibly replicate any of their technology?"asked General Hammond, direct as always.

"Possibly," Carter replied guardedly, "I'd like to have the chance to study the healing effect of the forest."

Hammond paused for a moment in thought. "Alright," he said eventually. "Eleven-hundred -hours; SG1, you have a go!"

*  
  


"Hey Carter! Off out?" O'Neill shouted down the corridor as he hurried to catch up with his second in command as she stood in the lift to the surface.

She held the door open for him and he stepped into the lift. The doors closed. "As a matter of fact I am sir," she replied, blue eyes twinkling.

"Hot date?" O'Neill joked.

"Yeah, actually," she replied as the lift reached the surface. With apparently nothing more to say she started to walk across the car park; O'Neill watched her walk, feeling the hot swoop of jealousy boil sickeningly in his stomach, legs turned to lead.

"See you tomorrow!" he shouted after her as she unlocked her car door.

"Eleven-hundred!" she smiled back, waving at him.

And then she was gone.

O'Neill kicked the door frame hard as he could, achieving nothing and possibly breaking his toe. "Screw this," he muttered, heading back for the lift.


	3. Awkwardness

Major Carter tripped over another tree root that was half hidden by the springy, mossy grass that had grown like a carpet over a path between the trees. She wasn't normally this clumsy but with her neck craning to see the canopy, head snapping round as a bright burst of colour would betray the existence of another variety of brightly coloured flowers, and with her jumping every time she was startled by a parrot that squawked out of the tree tops like a brightly coloured jet fighter, being just about as noisy; her feet were a rather unregarded concern.

Besides her Daniel was voicing his appreciation for every beauty of nature that Eden threw at them. The peaceful feeling the forest created meant that her unhappiness from an earlier, particularly brusque encounter with Colonel O'Neill had faded a little. 

"Here looks like a good spot," said Daniel as they reached a clearing in the trees. 

"I agree. Let's get the equipment set up..." It was difficult to remain focussed in the warm, humid forest, the relaxing effect of some yet-to-be-identified alien phenomena but Carter was an expert in keeping her mind on the job. She'd had a lot of practise over the past few years.

"So..." said Daniel, clearly about to make a statement he was unsure of her reaction to, "What was up with you an the Colonel this morning?"

Carter swore under her breath. Was it really that obvious? "Nothing Daniel."

"Oh come on! I might not be omniscient anymore but I'm not blind! You could cut the air with a knife. Was it something to do with your date with, uh, Ben last night? How did that go, by the way?"

Carter felt her misery return full measure. "Fine," she replied, dodging the earlier questions, "Really well in fact... its just..." She stopped, wondering how best to phrase her problem. Daniel was an excellent counsellor, and she also knew her words would go no further. But it was a harsh admission she was going to have to make, an acknowledgement of feelings she had spent a long time learning to repress. 

"Just what?" Daniel asked, although the shrewd look in his eyes betrayed the fact that he knew damn well what was about to come next.

"Well, Ben asked me back for a coffee, after a really great evening..."

"And you said...?" Daniel prompted.

"And I turned him down," the Major answered wretchedly. "I do like him; a lot in fact. I said I had to be out early this morning..."

"Which was true," Daniel said nodding.

"..But there was a part of me that was aware that if... if *someone else* had been doing the asking I wouldn't even have considered the early morning get-up."

Daniel exhaled slowly. No need to ask who someone else was; a particularly irritable Jack O'Neill.

"I just can't let go Daniel. I'm really trying. I thought with Ben I really might have something..." Carter finished, throughly mournful now.

"Ah Sam," Daniel said, not knowing of anything he could say to comfort Carter. "I'm really sorry to have bought this up."

"Hey," she said, giving him a thin smile that didn't reach her eyes, "Don't worry about it." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I'm just being stupid. Come on. We need to get these tests finished."

*

O'Neill sat on a fallen log in the chirruping jungle, poking the dirt with a twig. Teal'c attempted, for the third time in an hour, to try and get the Colonel to speak of what was bothering him. 

"O'Neill," the Jaffa warrior said, "Is there something troubling you?"

O'Neill turned his scowl up to Teal'c's patient expression. "No," he replied, in what he probably thought was a nonchalant tone of voice.

"I have difficulty in believing that, O'Neill," Teal'c continued.

"Did you know that Carter had a boyfriend?" O'Neill asked suddenly.

*Ah*, though Teal'c. "I was aware she had become acquainted with a man from outside the SGC."

There was silence, broken by the dripping of water from huge green fronds and the chatter of primates in the high branches of the trees.

"It's nice here, isn't it?" O'Neill asked, a strangely bitter edge to his voice.

"It is indeed pleasant," Teal'c replied, sighing internally as he prepared himself for another day of trying to coax the crotchety Colonel out of his bad mood, as the man stabbed at the ground with increasing violence.

*

It had been nearly an hour, and Carter was still no nearer to deciphering the mystery of the seemingly magical healing powers of Eden. Radiation readings came out bewilderingly close to Earth normals. "I just don't get this," she admitted to Daniel, running a distracted hand through her short hair.

"Well, don't worry about it Sam. I'll ask T'Yanthon if they have any idea." He squeezed her shoulder in a friendly manner.

"Ugh," the Major replied, admitting defeat. "You're probably right. Let's find the Colonel and Teal'c and go home."

"I like it here," Daniel confessed as they packed away their equipment, "It's very relaxing."

"Hmm," Carter replied, but she nodded her agreement. "I'd like to see some of the settlements here, deep in the forest."

"I bet they're fascinating," agreed Daniel.

*

Major Carter didn't dare glance at the clock; it would be unwelcome acknowledgement of how much time she had spent in her lab pouring over readings and information from the High Council and still not understanding. Everyone else had gone home after their post mission check-up. Except possibly O'Neill, who had disappeared off without a word. She felt a stab of irritation, her stomach clenched uncomfortably at his name.

She was annoyed with herself too; the burning bitter anger bubbling just below the clam exterior she presented the world was distracting her. If she could only get his scowl out of her mind she was quite sure the answer would present itself to her. 

She rubbed her eyes with exhaustion and took a sip of her cold coffee, making a face at the terrible taste. She longed to just give up, admit that this puzzle was one step beyond her, but her stubborn tenacity would never let her quit. She'd spent three months working on a particle generator before now, to try and drag that miserable Colonel's whingeing, good for nothing ass back home...

She let out a growl of frustration, pounding her forehead with her fist as she had let him enter her thoughts *again*. She's had enough. She was going to her quarters to get some sleep. Maybe she should 'phone Ben, but her anger at the Colonel made her sure that would be a mistake, she didn't want to scare the guy off with jealous ravings about another man. She stormed out of the lab to bed.

She opened her eyes to see a vaguely familiar ceiling. Sitting up suddenly she realised she was in the infirmary. Janet hurried over to her, to push her back on her pillows. Carter felt dizzy, nauseous, every limb seemed too heavy to lift; even her eyelids drooped with the perceived weight.

"What happened Janet?" she asked hoarsely, trying to unstick her throat.

"You were collapsed in your quarters Sam," the Doctor said, eyes full of concern. "The test results should be back soon. I want you to rest."

Carter nodded, panic seizing her chest; lying back on her pillows she wracked her brains for an idea of what could be wrong with her *this* time.

It was half an hour before Doctor Fraiser returned and her kind face was unusually grave. Carter knew straight away that the news was *not* going to be good.

"Sam, it looks as if something is making your body reject the naquadah left in your blood stream by your blending with Jolinar, but your liver is unable to cope with breaking down all the waste products from the process."

"So?" Carter asked anxiously.

"You're going into multiple organ failure Sam. Your liver is already failing and there are signs that your other major organs may soon be affected. You probably haven't noticed, but you're extremely jaundiced. Colonel O'Neill isn't faring any better either..."

"The Colonel?" Sam queried, confused.

"He's suffering from the same affliction Sam. I guess his blending with the Tokra symbiote has affected him in much the same way as you. Can you think of any cause for this?" Janet enquired.

Sam thought for a moment. "Eden," she replied after a few seconds. "The forest we visited on P3X-106. It has healing properties or something; maybe it tried to rid us of the alien contaminant. I collected readings in the forest. Jack spent time in there too." Her yellowed face took on an expression of even deeper misery.

Janet on the other hand looked a lot happier; finding a cause was always the first step to finding a cure. "I'll get Daniel to talk to the inhabitants, see what they can tell me. You rest now Sam. Get some sleep." Janet gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and Carter settled back down again, trying to ignore the symptoms of her illness, and the gut wrenching fear underneath it all.


	4. Home Away From Home

Major Samantha Carter listened in a state of extreme shock to the wan-faced Daniel's explanation. 

"They recommend you go to P3X-106. T'Yanthon is certain that the forest will be able to heal you both. But they don't know how long you will have to stay there. Probably several months. Maybe years..." he trailed off, looking extremely miserable.

"Maybe forever," murmured Sam, her hoarse voice barely audible over the beeping of the many machines that surrounded her bedside and the steady drip-drip of the IV attached to her arm.

Daniel gave her an unhappy look. "It's a possibility you have to consider Sam."

"There's nothing to consider, Daniel," Carter sighed, "If I stay, I die. If I go I might survive. And the Colonel."

"We'll come and visit you all the time Sam," Daniel said, eyes suspiciously over-bright with tears he refused to let fall, his voice shaking.

"You'd better," she said, before voicing the one thing she had been hoping never to have to stay; praying, hoping against hope for Janet to produce some miracle cure that had not been forthcoming. "Will, uh, will you let Ben know I'm not going to be around any more?"

"Of course, Major Carter," replied Teal'c, also at her bedside.

"Let's get this show on the road, then," she said, trying to inject some happiness into her voice she certainly didn't feel. 

Daniel nodded, helping her into the wheelchair and wheeling her towards the embarkation room, Teal'c at her other side. 

"I'll send you some personal items," Janet reassured her as Daniel pushed her up the ramp to where the event horizon beckoned. Colonel O'Neill lay on a gurney, his face a sickening yellow colour; covered in a shiny sheen of sweat and twitching slightly beneath a thin blanket. She closed her eyes as they were wheeled through the Stargate to the brightly lit world on the other side.

*

Sam had felt the tiredness lift from her limbs the moment she had entered the forest, and Colonel O'Neill had regained consciousness about half an hour after they had arrived. Already the yellow colouring of their skin was receding as SG1 talked calmly in the shade of some of Eden's huge trees.

It was four hours later when a guide reached them, to take Sam and Jack to their new home deep in the forest. Despite her sadness about leaving Earth behind Carter couldn't suppress the tingle of excitement she felt in being able to see the houses hidden deep in the jungle. Colonel O'Neill had been joking exuberantly, but when the young man arrived (his name was Uran) he suddenly became much more subdued. 

The reason soon became apparent; Carter and O'Neill would be escorted to their new home, the time for painful goodbyes had arrived.

Janet had already returned to the SGC after ascertaining that both her patients were returning to health, her duty beckoned. They had talked at great length and already said their goodbyes two hours earlier. A check-up had been arranged for a weeks time, and already Carter was looking forward to seeing her friend again.

Carter hugged Daniel fiercely; it seemed she had only just started to get to know the young archeologist again after he had returned to them and now she was leaving. "Hey, I'll come visit," he muttered, his voice thick with emotion. He kissed her on the cheek as he stood back. 

She embraced Teal'c just as strongly and to her surprise he hugged her back. "We will miss your presence, Major Carter. I too will come and visit."

"Bye, guys," the Colonel added sadly as Uran lead them away through the trees. In a few moments the two remaining members of SG1 were out of sight. Carter tried to hold back the tears that threatened to erupt, almost succeeding; a single tear leaked down her cheek, already back to its normal colouration. O'Neill caught her eye but said nothing. They had spoken little to each other since he had regained consciousness. 

Carter was unaware for how long they walked, although her limbs were not tired she knew that it had been for at least two hours when Uran came suddenly to a halt. Ahead of them was a large clearing. Carter felt her gaze drawn upwards.

"Wow," she murmured, unable to think of any other exclamation to express her wonderment at the sight before her. The houses of the Eden dwellers were high in the trees. Constructed of the same shiny material of the domes dotted on the rolling grassy plains near the gates, they had a similar rounded look to them. A wooden staircase was sunk into the tree so that the inhabitants could reach the houses. Wooden platforms formed corridors from dwelling to dwelling, the wooded supports all intertwined with vibrant flowering vines. It was like the tree-house she had always dreamed of her father building. In front of her a bird of paradise with fiery plumage landed unperturbed on a stair rail, quite unafraid of human presence.

"Sweet," agreed the Colonel, already heading for the stairs, "Reminds me of Lothlorien. You know. From L-" 

"Lord of the Rings, yeah. I know sir." She followed him and Uran up the staircase.

"This is your dwelling," Uran said, indicating a slightly smaller dome than the ones on the edge of the settlement. "I will leave you to settle for a while. Then we will introduce you to some of the others here."

"Okay," replied O'Neill but the man had already disappeared.

Inside, the dome was a strangely phosphorescent green colour; it looked more like white walls with green light projected onto them. There was a thick what-O'Neill-assumed-was-carpet on the floor of a long corridor with rounded doors leading off it. Again they were strongly reminded of another Tolkien work, The Hobbit. The rounded doors were exactly as Carter had imagined them when reading the book as a child. She pushed the first one on the right open to find a comfortable looking chair and a workstation. The study.

"Hey. I've found the living room. Wonder if they get cable?" O'Neill said, poking his head out of the first door on the left. Carter moved to look inside. There were two more of the comfy chairs and some sort of cupboard which Carter opened to reveal... books. None of them were understandable but they were a nice touch all the same.

"Ah! I was hoping that was the TV cupboard." O'Neill moved away to open the second door on the right. "Bedroom!" he yelled. Then: "Another bedroom! I want this one!"

Carter pushed open the second left. "Kitchen!" The third door revealed: "Bathroom!"

"Wonder how the plumbing works in this place?" O'Neill mused as they both re-entered the corridor. Carter laid her hands on the door-knob of the last round door. "Wonder what this is?"

She opened the door to reveal a huge balcony. The vines were wound around the enclosing fence here, beautiful flowers releasing an intoxicating scent into the hot, heavy afternoon air. There was a table and four chairs, beautifully carved from a pine-ish looking wood.

"Garden?" O'Neill asked.

"Mmm." Carter replied, sharing a moment of beautiful calm before the awkwardness descended again. 

"Well. I'll just be... um... in my room... uh." 

And Carter was left alone again.


	5. A Breaking Storm

The evening entertainment for the people of Eden with nothing more pressing appeared to be a large get together around a huge fire on the forest floor. There was food, something both O'Neill and Carter gratefully received. Having been fed intravenously for the past few weeks both were looking forward to some real food. There were all sorts of roasted fruits, Carter was busy dripping piping hot not-pineapple juice down her legs.

There were about thirty people gathered here tonight of varying ages; Uran had said approximately half of the total population were present. Various people kept hurrying up to introduce themselves; a bewildering barrage of alien names and friendly faces. O'Neill caught himself wondering vaguely what they had suffered from before coming here, as he tucked into something that resembled a roasted apple.

The sun was obviously setting and it was dropping colder under the trees, both of the shivered in their BDUs, as the orange light steadily changed to a bloody red, dappled by the leaves of the trees.

"Well, I'm exhausted Carter," O'Neill declared shortly after a few more minutes of meet-and-greet, "I'm going to bed."

"Good night sir," she replied, but the Colonel's response was inaudible. 

She sat on her own for a few more minutes and then went to bed herself.

*

She was woken by the sound of someone tapping on the front door. Carter, wearing only her underwear and a tank-top (they had yet to receive any packages from home) wondered if she should answer it.

Muted voices meant that Colonel O'Neill had beaten her to it. She hurriedly pulled on some trousers and went out into the corridor to find out what was going on.

"Hey Carter," he said, "Package from home."

There was a huge wooden crate that had apparently been sent through the Stargate earlier that morning, O'Neill pried it open and pulled out the packages within. Sam recognised the heavily sello-taped parcels for the Colonel, no doubt wrapped by Daniel. O'Neill tossed a more neatly wrapped package at her which she nearly dropped. Janet's neat writing labelled it 'Sam Carter' and there was a card attached. Opening it, she found a note from Cassie. 

After O'Neill had finished removing his things she dug out her own.

Janet had thought of everything. There were clothes, underwear, toiletries, a CD player and CDs, her laptop, books, even her own pillow and bed sheets. There was a three page letter from Janet, the aforementioned note from Cassie, even a scribble from Ben.

It was short:  
  


Samantha, I wish you could have told me yourself you were going to be transferred. I miss you terribly. Your messenger says you cannot easily keep in touch. I hope you're safe. There's so much left unsaid. I'll try and contact you, but for now,

All my love,

Ben xx   
  


Carter felt her eyes brimming with tears as she folded the letter back up and put it on a chest of drawers by her bed. She proceeded to put away all of her clothing before pulling on her dressing room and escaping to the bathroom for a good long soak in the largest bathtub she had ever seen.

O'Neill was playing on his Gameboy in the living room when Carter, washed and fully dressed, came in. He turned up the tinny music facetiously to try and prevent conversation. He'd seen the letter from Ben. Carter gave up trying to start a tentative conversation and proceeded to the study, to try and set up her laptop. 

*

O'Neill had hung up a mirror in the corridor and he paused as he passed it early one morning, nearly a week after they had settled in Eden. There was a difference in his reflection, so small that it was almost imperceptible. He ran his hand through his hair distractedly, trying to figure out what exactly had changed...?

"Hey Carter!" he yelled.

The Major's blonde head appeared in her door way, hair tousled. "What!?" She did not share the Colonel's penchant for early rises to walk in the forest.

"Look!" He pointed to his temple.

"What?" Carter repeated, not quite as sharply.

"Notice anything different?" he asked, grinning broadly.

"No," she replied, bewildered.

"It's brown. Look, my hair is turning brown," he informed her excitedly.

"Well, what did you expect? Didn't you listen to Uran?"

"Er... no. So what, we're going to get younger?" He looked excited at the prospect.

Carter rolled her eyes. "No. The healing effect replenishes you from your DNA. Eventually you'll just reach your optimum age and just... stay there..." Her head disappeared again back into her room. O'Neill checked his watch; it was only half past six. Perhaps she had gone back to bed?

"Thanks!" he yelled, and she replied with a groan.

*

"Hey Carter!" O'Neill yelled again, giving the scientist a severe case of deja-vu.

"Sir?"

"You still working?" he asked, coming into the study where she was again working on her laptop. 

"Yeah," she replied, concentrating on the screen. O'Neill frowned slightly; she was becoming obsessed with solving the puzzle of Eden's power. Dark circles around her eyes were testament to her late night studies and early morning get-ups to spend a day staring at the computer screen.

"Well, take a break. I'm heading down to the camp-fire. Come with me?"

There was a hint in his voice of the old tension between the two of them, his invitation was heartfelt. But Carter, annoyed that it had taken him so long to get over his jealousy about Ben and stop behaving so coldly towards her, shrugged. "No thanks, sir."

"There'll be hot pineapple things..." he wheedled, even though he knew she was resolute.

"Honestly sir... I think just a few more hours and I might have a solution." It was a lie, she was no closer to an answer now than she had been days ago, but she didn't want a pitched battle with the Colonel over attending a camp-fire meeting.

O'Neill knew he should leave it there, simply throw his hands up in exasperation and leave to spend another night brooding alone. But something rebelled. He leaned against the doorframe. "You know, it's not all bad here. There's some beautiful places. You should come for a walk with me tomorrow. I'll show you some of the things I've discovered."

A large part of Sam longed to say yes, but she shook her head. "I've got to work this out. Don't you want to go home?"

It was a throwaway question, one she had thrown at him in an attempt to win the argument. But she had struck a nerve, as over the past few days O'Neill had been questioning whether, if he ever could, he would want to return to Earth. Eden *was* his idea of paradise. He was even sharing it with Samantha Carter. But Carter was desperate to return to Earth, and, in all likelihood, her new man.

The mere thought of him made a fresh surge of anger course through his veins. "Fine. I'll leave you to it then," he snapped, standing up to leave. As he pushed the door shut, overcoming the very strong desire to slam it as hard as he could, he muttered under his breath: "Spend another night moping over you boyfriend. See if I care."

But Sam Carter had very good hearing.

"What did you say?" she demanded, pulling open the door violently, her blue eyes flashing dangerously. Two pink spots of colour burned fiercely in her cheeks and O'Neill felt his own cheeks flush, the deep red of guilty embarrassment.

A denial would be childish. "I said 'see if I care.' About you staying in, moping over your boyfriend like a love-struck teenager." In all honesty, that reply wasn't much more mature than the denial he had originally intended.

Carter's scowl deepened. "What's the matter Colonel? Jealous?"

"Jealous?!" he barked, covering the distance between them in two long, angry strides to grab her shoulders as if he wanted to shake her (1). Carter was horrified to realise that under her anger she was enjoying the grip of his hands on her arms; a part of her was revelling in his envious reaction to her relationship with Ben.

"Sure sounds like you are," she retorted, nose to nose with him as she frowned up at his red face. She felt the shiver that ran through his arms as her angry breath brushed his cheek.

"Of course I'm bloody jealous! You know how I feel about you!" 

He looked as shocked as she did at the sudden revelation. He held her arms painfully tightly for a few more seconds and then- 

"Screw this!" His traditional response to situations that tried his temper hissed between his teeth. He let go of her arms and stormed out of the house, leaving a thunderstruck Sam Carter standing in the corridor. 

1. Not that the Colonel would ever act on such a violent impulse towards his team-mate


	6. Racing

"Samantha?" 

Carter blinked at the mention of her name. "Sorry?"

"My name is Rel," said a pleasant face woman with auburn hair, "I have met Jack before, but not you. I trust you are settling in here?"

Sam tried not to blush in guilt. "Um," she said, trying to think of a way to change the subject, "Col- I mean Jack mentioned leisure activities...?"

"Ah, yes. He mentioned that you would enjoy a race on a Fel'Tak... If you would follow me?"

"A what?" Carter asked as they started to walk away from the camp-fire, still glowing with the embers of last nights gathering, which Sam had not attended, as it was so early in the morning.

"A Fel'Tak," repeated Rel, smiling slightly.

Carter managed to curb her natural curiosity and picked her way through the trees, following Rel.

Carter gasped as the nature of a Fel'Tak was revealed; essentially flying motorbikes. They reminded Carter of the jet-bikes from Star Wars. There was a sort of track running through the trees, where the tall trunks had either been cut or had fallen to the forest floor. She hurried after Rel to get padded up; although a fall could not kill in the forest it could still hurt, and as Rel said it was better safe than sorry.

The technicalities of driving the Fel'Tak were very similar to her motorbike locked in storage back on Earth, she was soon zooming along the alleys of trees, racing the inhabitants of Eden. She had to admit, it was better than working on her laptop.

*

Colonel O'Neill had woken late in the day after spending most of the previous night sitting moodily at the campfire, stony faced. He slouched out of the dome-house, down the steps and towards the sports fields, feeling like venting his rage by pounding the hell out of a ball. However, the purr of the Fel'Tak engines drew him instead to the race track, he was never quite sure why.

He recognised the blonde head of one racer as she slowed down to complete her race, removing her helmet in response to a cheer from the onlookers. Carter had apparently won a race, to general applause from the Eden-ites. Despite his annoyance with the Major he couldn't help but feel his spirits lift slightly as she zipped past him, to start again against another contender. He joined the crowds on the ground.

Carter found the sensation of Fel'Tak racing amazing, all her worries and the angst of her non-relationship with the Colonel were left on the ground as the wind whipped across her face. She revved the (apparently non-polluting) engine as the ground crew-man counted her and her opponent down. He was a young, dark haired man from what she could see of him, his eyes dancing with a wicked fire.

"Three! Two! One! GO!!"

They were off, speeding through the trees, dodging left, right, up, down, accelerating all the time.

On the ground Colonel O'Neill's mouth dropped open, as Carter was little more than a green blur in all her padding, she was inching ahead of the young male racer. He started to cheer himself.

Carter knew she had run, she put on an extra spurt to reach the finish line, crossing it to tumultuous applause, was slowing down for her lap of honour, when there was a terrible cracking noise and a high branch plummeted from a nearby tree. Carter tried to dodge out of the way. Instead of striking her it hit the back of her Fel'Tak, flipping it into the air, and throwing Carter off. She hit the ground with a hideous thump, echoed by the groan of about thirty throats.

And the pounding of O'Neill's feet on the leaf litter as he ran towards Sam, heart hammering in his throat.

She was lying completely still, blood oozing from various cuts, crumpled at the foot of a large tree. After checking her pulse he picked her up in one fluid movement, carrying her back towards the startled onlookers. Her opponent landed at his side, ashen faced.

"She will heal, O'Neill. Take her to a place where she can lie still."

O'Neill nodded mutely, and carried her onwards home, her blood staining his shirt.

*

Carter woke up with a groan, remembering her fall even though she could not feel any pain from it. As her vision resolved itself she saw the rather red face of Colonel O'Neill. He rubbed his face again and gave her a small smile. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Look, Carter. I'm sorry about yesterday. Can we call a truce?"

Carter felt for a brief second that she ought to disagree, but she liked being on speaking terms with the Colonel far too much to argue, and nodded instead. "Yeah."

"Fancy coming down to the campfire?" he offered, "I think there's a lot of people wanting to make sure you're okay."

"Alright," she replied, giving him one of her rare smiles, and making his heart jump.

He held out his hand to help her off her bed, fingers entwining for just a second too long. To his immense surprise but also gratification she took his proffered arm to lean on, and let him lead her on down to the campfire.


	7. Fun and Games

"And how do you feel in yourself?" Janet asked, as O'Neill blinked in the fierce light of her penlight.

"Fine," he replied, as he had in last weeks check up. "In fact, better than fine. Really great."

"I'm glad. And how are things between you and Major Carter?" she said, as if moving down a mental checklist.

"Fine. How's Cassie?" he said quickly, moving to head her off at the pass. 

Janet Fraiser was a smart woman. "You sorted out your difficulties?"

How the hell did she know? *How* the *hell* did she know? She wasn't even on the same planet as Sam and yet somehow she obviously knew about all of their problems, for cryin' out loud!

"Yes, we sorted out our difficulties," he replied, very sarcastically.

"Good. I'm glad. Cassie's fine. She sent you a letter." Janet passed him the folded sheets of paper. Jack smiled, knowing he would enjoy reading the missive from his generally-regarded-as-a-niece. "Well Colonel, you're in excellent health. But your body still isn't breaking down the naquadah. I'm guessing that the Forest is sustaining your internal organs..."

"In other words, we can't come home soon.," Jack finished the sentence for her.

"I'm really sorry Colonel," Dr. Fraiser replied, and she looked it as well.

"I know," O'Neill responded, with a crooked smile. "It's not so bad here. Sports, barbeque food. My house is great."

Janet laughed. "Okay Colonel. I guess you're needing to head back now."

"Yeah. I want to try and teach the guys baseball!" he laughed, looking over to Carter, who had already finished her check-up.

"See you soon Jan," Sam said, receiving a hug from the petite doctor.

The two soldiers waved goodbye as they walked away through the trees. O'Neill was screwing his courage up for a mission of some hazard- asking Major Sam to accompany him to the game at the field today. Despite their truce things were still a little awkward between them, although he felt it was perhaps back to their normal standard of awkwardness, sparks of sexual tension caused by the closeness of their friendship. Ben hadn't sent any more letters and there was an unspoken agreement between them to not speak of Him.

They'd been in Eden nearly a month now, and whilst Carter still regularly worked on her laptop she also participated in the activities of the Eden camp. There was maintenance work to be done on the giant walkways in the trees (although O'Neill took more of an interest in the technicalities of carpentry than Carter) and also on the houses (a role reversal, O'Neill couldn't stand working on the complex machinery that Carter enjoyed being buried up to her elbows in). There was the nightly gathering at the campfire which often turned into a huge sing-song, with a variety of different instruments appearing and being played in an astounding range of ways. O'Neill was still waiting for Daniel to send him a guitar. There was the Fel'Tak racing and of course the sports field.

"So... Carter," O'Neill said in his normal slightly sarcastic tones.

"Mmm?" she replied mildly, watching her feet so she didn't fall over.

"Fancy coming to the sports field tonight?" 

"Yeah. Okay. Sure," she replied.

Yes Yes YES *YES*

"Cool."

*

Jack's third attempt at explaining the rules of baseball wasn't achieving much, so Carter, grinning with mirth detached herself from the tree. "Why don't we try something simpler?" She motioned to the four posts set out. "First base, second base, third base, fourth base. If you get all the way round you score one. If someone stumps out the post you're running to before you get there, you're out. If someone catches the ball after you've hit it, before it hits the ground, you're out. And you have to stop running once the bowler has the ball in their hands. Simple enough?"

There were nods around the circle of potential players. 

"I'll bowl. I need someone to be a backstop, uh, they stand behind the batter. The rest of you either stand inside the posts or go out deep," Carter continued. She chanced a glance at O'Neill, who was definitely looking incredulous.

"Rounders, Carter?"

"You know the rules?"

"It's a *girl's* game."

Carter rolled her eyes. "Sure it is. You can captain the opposite team. We won't over complicate it with half rounder rules and backward hits. Just the basics." She handed him a wooden bat, several of which had been carved by the forest inhabitants. O'Neill grinned. 

"Prepare for a pasting, Sam Carter."

"I'm really scared Jack!" she called back as she walked to a roughly mark bowlers square. Jack took stance with the bat, not realising that she had called him by his first name for the first time since arriving; even though everyone else knew them as Sam and Jack, rather than Carter and O'Neill.

SMACK! The ball was caught by the back-stop as it whistled past O'Neill. "Just a practise!" Carter called, but she grinned at the real fear registered in Jack's eyes. The ball could do some serious damage should connect with his body...

Jack swung the bat and the ball flew away, he started to run for the first post; by now he would normally be ignoring stabbing pains in his knee but three weeks in Eden had cured that. He saw Carter grinning as the ball soared through the air and into her hands as he reached third post. "Unlucky!" she called.

By the end of his innings Jack had scored three rounders, adding to his teams certainly respectable score of fourteen. He took up Carter's position as bowler when the teams swapped, trying to throw her balls as hard and fast as she had thrown at him. When she called for half time they were three rounders ahead.

After half time Jack's team started by fielding, as Carter's team added another five rounders to their lead. The fourth innings saw Carter's team (seven rounders ahead now) changed their fielding formation somewhat; Carter was now on fourth deep, allowing some one else to bowl. O'Neill's team pulled back six rounders on Carter's. Her shark like grin was beginning to grate on O'Neill's nerves now. He had never been a good loser.

It was nearly time. He was the only man (or woman, but as O'Neill was obviously not a woman he felt man was a more appropriate term) left in. The bowler grinned and the ball flew from his fingers, heading straight for him...O'Neill felt the bat connect with the ball and the white object sped away, out towards the third deep. He ran flat-out for the first post... the second... the third. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Carter was trying to beat him to the fourth post as she dashed across the grass; she had moved forward to receive a throw and now was racing him back. 

O'Neill slid in towards fourth, he knew he was going to scrape his knees on the harder ground beneath the soft grass but he didn't care. "In!" he yelled as his bat made contact with the post, as at the same time Carter fell over him as she touched the post with the ball, landing heavily on top of him and squashing the air out of him. The air erupted with the cheers of both teams as they both celebrated their apparent win.

Carter and O'Neill were a breathless ball of knotted limbs, entangled around the fourth post. "We won!" O'Neill crowed. 

Carter spluttered in indignation. "I think you'll find that *we* won," she said, as if informing him of a well known fact.

"Yeah, whatever," he replied infuriatingly. 

Carter attempted to untangle her legs from O'Neill's, meaning now that he was lying on top of her, both of them unwilling to move. His lips brushed hers.

And quite suddenly they were kissing, O'Neill's hands running though her hair as she gripped the back of his shirt, fingers knotting around the fabric.

"No!" she hissed, quite suddenly breaking away and wiggling free. He stood up moving as if to follow her.

"Why..?" He couldn't quite articulate the question. Why not?

"I can't..."

And she was gone, running away through the trees leaving O'Neill full of a strange longing, and frustration.


	8. Changes

Apologies to my American readers! I have *no idea* about how to play baseball, it sounds hideously complicated to me! Rounders is a game we play at school with four posts/bases, a bat and a ball. You hit the ball as hard as you can and run all the way round the four posts to score one rounder. Hence the name 'rounders.' Fairly simple, I think!

  
  


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

  
  


It was very dark when Carter finally came home, pushing the door open as quietly as she dared, hoping against hope that the Colonel would be in bed, asleep, elsewhere...

No such luck. He was standing in the corridor as if he had know all along she would appear at exactly this moment and be ready and waiting to meet her. "We need to talk," he said heavily and Carter nodded, heading towards the living room. He'd made her a cup of scalding hot tea, just the way she liked it, and she sat with the mug steaming between her hands.

"What happened today?" O'Neill asked, every word sounding as if it was a sustained effort to drag it out of a deep hole. His dark eyes met her blue ones in the dimly lit room, holding them with a burning intensity and making her remember the feeling from earlier of his body against hers; of heat, a prickling of sweat and his intoxicating smell.

She looked away. "Nothing sir," she said, "We can just forget it-" 

"I don't want to forget it." There. He'd said it. Her eyes flicked back to his.

"But I'm.... I'm with Ben. I haven't even been away a month and already I'm with another man..." she muttered, mostly to herself.

"I'm not the other man," O'Neill heard himself saying, as if from far, far away, "He is."

Carter looked stricken. "I know," she said in a low voice, "But we can't be together. Officially you're still my CO. We could be court martialled for that kiss."

"No we couldn't. We're not in the military anymore. Not under anyone's command. We're just Sam and Jack here, even if we don't always call each other by those names."

"I can't deal with this at the moment." 

Jack's pain was clearly registered in his face; she knew that right now he wanted closure more than anything else in the world. And she wanted it too, so badly. But now wasn't the time or the place. She was unsettled by new surroundings, emotional, not thinking straight. She couldn't expect to make such a life-changing decision right now. "Alright," he sighed, "Enjoy your tea."

He went to bed.

*

Time flowed onwards as it always has; hours gradually turning into days, and days to weeks. O'Neill continued to improve and personalise their home with various wooden ornaments and tools that he made in what Carter often jokingly referred to as 'woodwork class.' Carter won a few more Fel'Tak races, and the matter disintegrator in the toilet was working at three hundred percent efficiency after Carter got fed up during weekly maintenance work around the house. 

It was nearly three weeks later when Jack finally plucked up the courage to have another brave stab at 'making a move' on Carter. Things had been comfortably understated between them, the old tension returned in full measure.

But O'Neill had sent a letter to General Hammond with Janet during his last check-up, explaining that he was officially resigning from the military. He was now officially able to pursue his relationship with Sam Carter... assuming that was that she consented to be part of it, of course.

That was why he was struggling to drag a new wooden bench for their balcony over the walkways to their house. Carter opened the door to the red faced ex-Colonel. "Present for you," he said.

"A bench?" She was definitely looking incredulous.

"A carved bench no less," he replied, looking slightly hurt.

"Sam and Jack," she read, her fingers tracing the intricately carved letters entwined with vines, like the wooden framework all around them. She helped him carry it through to the balcony and then sat on it experimentally. "Comfortable," she said, as if passing judgement.

"I'm glad." He sat down next to her, going through the various speeches he'd been planning all day.

"I sent a letter to Ben today."

He marvelled inwardly at her amazing ability to take whatever situation he was planning and turn it completely on its head before replying. "About what?"

"Clarifying the position of our relationship," she said, uncomfortably. Jack knew not to push his luck, but Carter plunged in recklessly, as if determined to expunge the emotion involved in her letter. "I told him that as it is so unlikely we can ever see each other again, we are officially over."

O'Neill tried to hide his glee, contriving to keep his face in the traditional 'concerned friend' expression. As he often did in such circumstances he thought of the Simpsons. Homer's bracelet; WWJD? In Jack's case he mentally filled in the words as 'What Would Jackson Do?' "Was it the right thing to do?"

"I think so," she said, relief crossing her face. "It hurt a lot, but there was a kind of relief there too. Hard to explain."

O'Neill wondered if now was the right time to ask Carter what he had been planning to ask her all day. Probably not, he decided. Better leave it a while... 

...Damn!

*

Carter sat close to the roaring flames, grinning in the flickering firelight as she nibbled on a sweet, hot fruit. Beside her O'Neill was sitting on the same log, his hip brushing hers as he laughed with someone on his right, so close were they squashed together. There was entertainment tonight, juggling and music, a real carnival atmosphere. 

O'Neill turned to Carter, smiling, eyes dancing in the light. "Dance?" he asked, extending a hand.

"Sure," she replied, her own eyes shining as she took his hand. Soon they were dancing exuberantly amongst the other party-goers. 

"Carter!" O'Neill shouted over the din, close to her ear as they danced.

"What?!" she shouted back, curious as to the cause of his wicked smile.

"This!" he said. 

She opened her mouth the reply 'this what?!' but O'Neill had leaned in, his lips brushing hers gently.

"Oh!" she replied.

He looked uncertain, almost as if expecting reprisal for his action. "I handed in my resignation yesterday to Janet."

Carter knew that had he said this a few weeks ago, before they had come to Eden, she would have been devastated. As it was, it had very little bearing on their situation. She put her hand on his shoulder and kissed him again, properly this time, like they had in the games field.

"Will you go out with me?" O'Neill asked, his tone joking but his eyes sincere despite the immaturity of his words.

"Okay," she replied, smiling stupidly.

There was a silence between them, filled by the blaring of instruments, crackling of burning wood and the voices of other people.

"Oh good," he said, and thinking of nothing else to do, he kissed her again.

  
  



	9. You Haven't?

Sam felt her heels hit the door of her bedroom as the strength of Jack's kisses forced her backward. She gently pushed him away as he started to kiss her neck. There was an unnamed emotion in his eyes, if anything he looked a little disappointed. 

"Do you want a cup of coffee?" he asked; she could almost see the plan forming behind his brown eyes that were twinkling with mischief.

"No thanks Jack,"she said, her tone gently warning, "Good girls don't go home for coffee on the first date."

And with that she opened the door of her room and escaped to her private sanctum beyond, leaving Jack alone, facing the closed door. He sighed, but happily, as his hands slid compulsively behind his head. Carter smiled too a few minutes later as she heard him whistling cheerily in the bathroom.

*

There was a knock on the door at half past seven the next morning. Carter rolled over as her door sprung open to admit the grinning form of Jack O'Neill, clutching the biggest bouquet of flowers she had ever seen in her life, apparently freshly picked from outside. "Fancy a walk?"

"Five minutes!" she moaned, "For cryin' out loud, give me five minutes!"

O'Neill closed the door with a chuckle. Fifteen minutes later they were walking arm in arm on the leaf-litter.

As soon as he had lead her away from the main settlement O'Neill immediately pulled Carter into his arms and kissed her again. "You're tenacious, I'll give you that," she laughed when they broke for a breath.

"I've waited so long I want to enjoy it while I can. I really thought that I'd had it when you... Ben..." he trailed off sheepishly.

"Yeah. Me too. With Laira," she replied.

"So, girlfriend," Jack said, hurriedly changing the subject as the current proceedings had got too serious for his liking, "What do you want to do tonight? Watch a movie? Paint the town? Or a quiet night in?"

"Movie, I think," she said firmly.

"Your wish is my command. I have to go and splinter wood now," he apologised, after glancing at his watch, "But I'll be back."

She kissed him on the cheek. "See you soon."

"You call that a goodbye kiss?" he scoffed, proceeding to show her *his* idea of one. When Carter had the use of her mouth back again she grinned widely.

"But I'll see you in a few hours, Jack," she said plaintively.

"That long?" he replied, looking sad.

"Bye bye," she waved as he walked away backwards from her in an attempt to keep his sad eyes locked on hers. She laughed as he nearly fell over a tree root, decided that forwards was the best option and walked out of sight, glancing over his shoulder periodically to wave her goodbye again.

How old was he? Fifty? She'd met more mature sixth graders, but she understood the childish play was Jack's escape mechanism from the horrors in his past and in his own very unique way, he was quite sweet. She just hoped he wasn't going to keep testing her resolution on 'not taking things too fast too soon'... she had a feeling she wouldn't last very long under the full force of the O'Neill charm.

*

"Well you're certainly in a good mood," Janet remarked as she completed Sam's check up.

"Hmm," Carter replied, her ever-present smile widening slightly. "Can you keep a secret?"

Janet's eyes drifted over to the tall man waiting just out of earshot for them to finish. "No!" Janet exclaimed, her mouth dropping open in shock.

Carter simply raised her eyebrows for reply. Janet took in Jack's now completely brown hair, and the definition of the muscles under his white shirt. "I saw him first," carter muttered faintly.

"So have you-" the doctor began as she started to pack away her equipment.

"No!" Sam answered sharply. "We're taking things slowly."

Janet couldn't quite keep the knowing smile from her face. "Yeah. Well, just in case things speed up..." She reached into her case of equipment, back expressively towards O'Neill. "Cassie will be thrilled," she continued as Sam pocketed her 'present.' "And Daniel, he's taking money on how long it'll be before we have to come out here for the wedding."

"Are they coming to visit soon?" Sam asked, unable to keep the hope out of her voice.

"Very soon," Janet promised, "Even sooner when I tell them about you two!"

"Secret, I said!" chided Carter, although she had no real objection to Daniel and Teal'c finding out. The General however was another thin entirely.

"He's been expecting it since Jack's resignation letter," Janet said, as if reading her mind.

"Still... Do you think I should send a message to Dad?"

"He's your father," Janet replied, holding up her hands to symbolise she could offer no counsel.

"Probably not," Sam laughed, thinking that if he found out he would probably come rushing out to Eden, demanding Jack's intentions for his daughter.


	10. Dreams

Carter shut the door as quietly as possible; it was three o'clock in the morning and the sound of the door opening was a sure-fire way to get the old soldier O'Neill out of bed, and *very* angry. She couldn't sleep and she had found night-time walks in the forest helped her doze off. 

Jack O'Neill surfaced from the deep fathoms of sleep, most disgruntled about the fact his particularly pleasant dream involving Sam Carter and rose petals; perhaps watching the American Beauty DVD sent by Daniel two nights ago with Sam had been a bad id- 

His brain caught up with his ears. Someone had very carefully closed the front door. Somehow he couldn't imagine a burglar in Eden, but all the same every nerve was tingling as he crept out of his bedroom and down the corridor. "Sam?" There was no answer, even though her bedroom door was ajar. 

His brain appeared to reach a conclusion without consulting his consciousness, he slipped on his shoes and crept out of the door. He looked down, scanning the forest floor for anything odd. A shaft of moonlight through the branches of the trees gleamed on blonde hair as Carter picked her way carefully through the wood. O'Neill watched her move from his aerial vantage point, transfixed by the vaguely angelic figure moving away from him.

As if acting on instructions he started to follow her, she obviously knew where she was heading and he was contented to trail her, trying to keep out of sight behind the ghostly grey trunks.

Carter was leading him far away from the camp, in a direction O'Neill had never explored before. The trees were growing thicker here, the undergrowth snagging against his bare legs and making him wince, regretting that his preparations for this night time expedition had not included pulling on some trousers over his boxer shorts.

Quite suddenly the undergrowth thinned, they had reached a clearing. There were standing stones dotted about in a sort of vague circle; Carter sat down with her back against one, picking small flowers out of the mossy grass. O'Neill stepped into the circle of moonlight and Sam glanced up at him, startled.

"Jack," she said, apologetically, "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Yeah," he admitted, rubbing his sleep mussed hair with his right hand, "You come here often?"

She nodded almost ashamedly. "When I can't sleep."

"Why can't you sleep?" he asked, dropping down on the grass beside her. 

"Just thinking about my life really. What's going to happen to me stuck here forever, working on a problem I can't solve, all my friends on another planet..." She registered the hurt look on Jack's face rather too late. "I'm sorry Jack."

"No. It's fine!" he said, rolling onto his stomach away from her.

He felt her cool fingers touch his bare shoulder in an attempt to re-engage him in conversation but he managed to ignore it. "I like it here," he said vehemently, "I have everything I've ever wanted. You, for one thing. Daniel and Teal'c can come and visit. No more drama, no more go'ulds... just fun. Playtime. Every day."

"It's not that I don't appreciate that!" she squeaked, "But I also feel a little regretful that my career, gate travel has all been cut short." She kissed his shoulder. "I enjoy being with you."

He turned over to look at her, breathless as he stared at her unique brand of not-so-fragile beauty in the moonlight, pale skin almost glowing silver, but underneath it all a tenacity that burned brighter than everything else like a flame. "But do you enjoy it enough?"

His liquid brown eyes seemed to be boring into her skull, smouldering with a fierce intensity she had rarely seen before. His skin was warm beneath her hands and she smiled. "Yeah." She let herself be pulled into his embrace, accepted and reciprocated his kisses until- 

- without any prompting Jack stopped kissing her and stood up, stretching in the silvery light. Sam's stomach did a double flip; she didn't want to stop just at that moment, moonlight kisses in an ancient stone circle... how could she not find that appealing? Jack held out his hand to help her up and she stood next to him. He offered her his arm. "Home?" he asked.

She nodded. "Time for bed."

O'Neill shivered as they walked back through the forest; Sam felt the quiver run through his body. "I should have pulled on some pants before I followed you. I must be mad."

She snorted with laughter. "Probably."

They walked on in companionable silence for some time, climbing the stairs to home. "Night," Jack said, kissing her cheek, before returning to his own room, obviously tired.

"Night," she whispered, but although she re-dressed for bed it was a while before she finally dropped off to sleep. She was too busy thinking.

Eden was paradise, and although she regretted the curtailment of her career she couldn't not enjoy her new surroundings; they were dreamlike.

Dreamlike, yes, that was the root of all her problems... living in Eden with Jack was like a childish fantasy. The longer she stayed the more she tried to perpetuate the childishness of her situation, even her relationship with Jack. Teenage dates; movies, walks, kisses, games. No real commitment, nothing too adult. And Jack was happy to play along with her, his immaturity a defence mechanism. But for how long?

How long could *she* live like this?

Tomorrow, she decided, she would do something about it all tomorrow... tomorrow... tomo- 

She fell asleep.

*

O'Neill left Sam wallowing in sleep the following morning, he went to do some more carpentry. When he returned in the afternoon Carter had disappeared. Slightly disappointed he picked up a book, started to thumb through it... he snorted awake nearly four hours later having fallen asleep over the pages; Carter was still occupied with whatever unconventional expedition she was involved in. He picked up a pair of glasses that were lying on the side. Daniel had sent them last weeks, the lenses were simply tinted, apparently they were supposed to promote concentration.

"Hey!" The sound of the door shutting coincided with Carter's shout.

"I'm reading!" Jack called from the living room. She came in, her face streaked with dirt and clothes sweat-soaked. Was it so terribly wrong, Jack wondered, to find that attractive? 

Carter laughed at his glasses. "You look very intellectual Jack," she smiled.

"Thank you," he replied, very sarcastically. "You look like you need a shower. Want me to make you a drink for when you come out?"

"Thanks," she said, retreating to the bathroom.

Some time later Jack knocked on the bathroom door. "Sam? Are you alright? You've been in there for nearly two hours!"

"Hang on a minute Jack!"

"Hurry up! We'll miss the evening sing-along!" he shouted back.

"I was kind of hoping for an evening in tonight!" she called.

"No argument here," he muttered under his breath, "Well, your tea's gone cold, that's all. I'll make you another cup!" he said louder.

Carter surfaced nearly twenty minutes later, when O'Neill had become engrossed in his book once more. "Hey," she said quietly.

"You look nice," he said, truthfully.

"Come on. Roasted fruit sounds appealing, I'm hungry."

"I thought you wanted an evening in?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah, I just want to eat something first."

"I'm not arguing, I'm just-"

"Stop being defensive Jack. Are you coming or not?" she said.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he replied, jumping to his feet to follow her.

*

It was late when they eventually arrived home, whatever Carter's plans for their evening had been they had been disrupted by the general merriment of the camp fire party. Jack opened the door, glanced at his watch and gave her a brief peck on the cheek. "Night Sam," he said, moving to go to bed as he had done every night since he had asked her to 'go out with him' exactly thirteen days, four hours and... he glanced at his watch again... fifty three minutes ago.

She laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't go."

He stopped dead. "Pardon?"

She didn't answer him, just looked at him; they had long ago perfected the art of communicating without speaking and he read from her eyes and the set of her jaw exactly what she meant. 

He swallowed.

He hadn't been this nervous since he was seventeen.

Then he grinned, he wouldn't be O'Neill if he just left it at that. "My room's bigger," he said, smile broadening.

"Mines closer," she replied, raising an eyebrow in a far-too-suggestive manner.

"Oo-er, Mabel," he replied as she grabbed his collar, making her laugh.

"You really are quite mad, aren't you?"

"Oh yeah," he replied.


	11. Visitors

Ex- USAF Colonel Jack O'Neill drifted back into the realm of the conscious, the arms of Morpheus releasing their strangle-hold and letting him wake. He rubbed his head without opening his eyes, comfortably warm and not quite sure if he wanted to wake up just yet. He stretched out his arms and the touch of a living, breathing warmth by his side coincided with his memory returning.

Carter was asleep next to him in bed, a slightly flushed pink, make up forgotten last night now smudged around her eyes and an errant strand of hair moving with every sighing exhalation. He turned over in order to watch her better, staring at her, smiling as the memories of last night resurfaced periodically. Her eyes snapped open and he wondered how long she had been pretending to be asleep.

"Good morning," she whispered, moving closer to him.

Their hands met under the blankets, his fingers entwined around hers and he grinned stupidly, unable to contain the happiness bubbling up inside him; a deep and fierce joy he hadn't experienced in a long, long time. "Good morning," he replied.

TAP TAP TAP. The sharp rap of an impatient knocker on their front door interrupted them just as their noses brushed before a sleepy kiss. They lay perfectly still for a moment. "Ignore it," Sam whispered. 

O'Neill was perfectly willing to ignore it, the thought of getting out of bed right at this particular moment was absurd. His hand was snaking up the bed covers to Sam's face when- 

BAM. BAM.

Someone even more impatient than the first knocker was hammering on their door so hard he marvelled it didn't crash off its hinges.

"I'm coming!" he shouted, turning his head away from Sam so he didn't deafen her. He rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a thump, accompanied by Sam's stifled giggle at his inability to get his legs working before making painful contact with the floor. "No giggling," he instructed, waving a finger as he pulled on the nearest dressing gown to hand and shuffled into some slippers. "Coming!" he yelled again, worried for the state of his door if the knocker had a third attempt at gaining entry. 

He pulled open the door and blinked in complete surprise. 

Daniel Jackson and Teal'c were standing on his doorstep, the Jaffa's huge fist raised as if he was about to have another attempt at smashing down the door.

O'Neill's mild irritation about being dragged out of bed vanished. "How the hell did you get here?" His directness did not, however.

"It's great to see you too Jack!" Daniel laughed, as Jack moved aside to let them in. "Helmont pulled a few strings for us. We thought you'd like a visit."

"Hell, yeah!" O'Neill responded, and was about to articulate, but Teal'c cut in; voicing the question that had been bothering him since O'Neill had opened the door.

"Is that not Major Carter's dressing gown?"

O'Neill looked down for the first time at his hastily assembled clothing. His dressing gown was a light pink, with a rabbit on the pocket. Glancing down further he realised that the slippers were fluffy, and a matching colour. He opened his mouth to utter some explanation and closed it again as none was forthcoming.

Daniel leaned closer to O'Neill, apparently also puzzled. "Is that lipstick?"

"It's not mine," Jack replied hurriedly, "Carter's-" 

"Who's at the door Jack?" the owner of the lipstick asked, coming out of their bedroom dressed in pajama-shorts and a tee shirt. She spotted the two other SG1 members and practically squealed with delight as she enveloped first the slightly shocked archeologist and then Teal'c in a fierce hug. "What are you doing here?" she asked, clearly as delighted as Jack at their visit.

"Isn't that Jack's tee shirt?" Daniel asked. 

Carter blushed as red as her pajamas, as Jack hurriedly tried to rub off the lipstick unintentionally transferred from the Major to himself during last night's... activities. Daniel's face cracked into a grin so large it looked as if he had swallowed a banana sideways. Even Teal'c was smiling.

"Yeah," said Jack, giving up on all pretence, "Yeah it is mine." His arm snaked around Sam's waist. "Why are you here at," he checked his watch, "Seven in the morning anyway?"

"Janet thought you might want warning," Daniel said evilly, "Jacob's coming to visit."

Carter was conscious of her thoughts moving very fast. Firstly: How dare Janet tell Daniel about her new relationship. She'd been looking forward to telling Dan herself. Second in line, and much *much* more terrifying was: 

Dad.

Coming here. 

Now. 

State of bedroom. 

Relationship with ex-CO

Not good.

The ashen look on O'Neill face suggested a similar train of thought was going through his own head. "Oh boy," he muttered.

Carter made the executive decision. "Okay guys. Look, I could do with a shower. Do you need putting up here? Yes? Well, go and speak to Rel. Tall and red headed, you'll easily find her. She can give you blankets and stuff. Bring 'em back and I'll set up three guest beds. Jack'll take you down the games field or Fel'Tak track."

"Fel'Tak?" Daniel asked, interested.

"Give us half an hour for a shower guys, and I'll explain everything," O'Neill added, marvelling inwardly at the sudden leadership shown by Carter. "Bye," he murmured as the other two men nodded and shuffled off, shutting the door behind them.

There was silence for a moment, before Jack started to howl with laughter; Sam having to hang on to his arm to stop herself from falling to the floor as she too laughed. "That," she panted, "Could only happen to us."

"I'll say," O'Neill snickered, "Where are they all going to sleep?"

"Your room," Sam offered.

"Okay. And the living room. But then where am I going to sleep?"

"My room?" Sam suggested.

O'Neill looked vaguely horrified at the suggestion. "With your father in the house? No thanks, I like my face the shape it is."

Carter laughed again. "I can't think why," she quipped, tweaking his nose as he looked hurt. "He's got to find out sometime Jack. Now is as good a time as any." 

"No, now is not a good time. A good time would be far, far in the future. When I'm not around to be strangled."

Sam shook her head; he seemed genuinely scared and she couldn't understand why. "Best hurry up with that shower," she said, "You first 'cos you've got to show the guys around."

O'Neill suddenly looked coy, smiling slyly. "Of course," he said slowly, gripping her hand in his, "We could reduce the waiting time by showering tog-" 

"You really think that'd be quicker?" Carter asked dryly.

"No," he replied ruefully, "But it'd be much more fun."

Carter giggled again, tempted, but intending to turn him down. Unfortunately at that moment Jack picked her up in one fluid movement, carrying her as she yelled and pounded his back only half-jokingly all the way to the bathroom, and the shower.


End file.
